Little Sparrow
by itakethewords
Summary: There's a new bird on stage at the Tres Spades auctions and Soryu is now the proud owner. She's somehow managed to make enemies with the head of one of the most dangerous gangs in all of Japan and drives Soryu mad. Between training his new songbird and keeping the hounds at bay, Soryu Oh has his hands full.
1. The Caged Bird

_**Author's Note:** Hello! My first trip into the world of otome game fanfiction, so be kind. I am no stranger, however, to fanfiction. I've decided to give it a try with the Voltage game _Kissed By the Baddest Bidder_ first. I haven't really found any that have satisfied me with great writing, so I thought I'd put my own out there. Plus, I generally find the MC in these games completely useless, so this is my way of making her like a real girl. Most people know me from _Inception _and _Harry Potter_ fandoms and if you've come across this because of alerts, maybe I'll turn you into Otome-curious? Haha! Please enjoy and leave a review!_

_ I'll maybe post once or twice a week. Maybe biweekly. Just depends. I'm a full time worker and a full time student, so I don't always have a lot of time for fun stuff. Plus, I have a semi-major series in the _Harry Potter _world happening. This will be my outlet when I can't get that story running, I suppose. This plot bunny just fell into my lap and I wanted to see where it took me. And it took me to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party!_

_This story is rated M because of future and past events, plus the sensitive nature that can be described with our heroine's circumstance. Don't expect smut anytime soon. Let's just leave it at that. It will happen. Just not now. I don't know how graphic my story will get. It depends on how much I can handle as I write and what I think it plausible without being ridiculously over dramatic. I don't usually give this kind of warning, but with this story, there is a chance I'll go there._

_Just for those wondering, Soryu is my favorite in this game, followed by Mamoru.:)_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing but a head full of plot bunnies._

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><p>One.<p>

I stared ahead at the crowd in front of me, shaking. Hundreds of people seemed to fill this auditorium, their faces covered in fanciful masks protecting their identity. Surrounding me, the golden bars of my cage glinted in the spotlight. Behind me to the left, the man dressed like the Mad Hatter was gleefully chatting, encouraging these finely dressed strangers to bid big-on me.

"Four million, five hundred to bidder number forty-five! Oh, but five million to bidder twelve!"

I almost threw up at the numbers being thrown out. These were people who weren't afraid to pay millions for a person; so just who would end up buying me? I could never hope to make five million in my lifetime!

"Come on, ladies and gentlemen! Just look at this healthy young woman! She could fit just about any purpose! She seems docile enough!"

The Mad Hatter approached my cage, microphone in hand, and reached in to pet my head. However, before he could touch me, I slapped his hand away and glared.

"OHO! This bird's beak is sharp! And nine million back from bidder forty-five!"

The crowd seemed to get excited that I showed emotion other than fear and the noise in the room rose to twice the chaotic din. The Mad Hatter left me and walked around the stage, exciting the crowd up, bringing the bids up to eleven million before the money seemed to lose power and stalled. Then,

"Fifteen million from bidder one hundred!"

The crowd hushed for a heartbeat before the new, louder noise seemed to swallow my panicked gasps to even my own ears. Not sure what good it would do, I stood in the domed cage and grasped the bars so tight, my knuckles turned white. My eyes searched out across the auditorium, looking for anyone who could see the plea in my eyes, the fear I had at how tonight would turn out.

"Sixteen million to forty-five!"

"Seventeen million to one hundred!"

"Twenty-five million to forty-five!"

"Fifty million to one hundred!"

The Mad Hatter called for any alternative bids, when no one else seemed to put in, the face-painted man happily banged his gavel on his podium and declared,

"SOLD! One young woman to seat one hundred for fifty million dollars!"

Two large men came on stage and wheeled my cage from the center of the stage, causing me to wobble and fall to my knees. In shock, I stared at the ground as they took me backstage to a holding area for what looked like auctioned items. I wasn't there alone long before one of the big men came up and stood in front of the cage door.

"Perk up, buttercup. Your new owners are here to get you." The man chuckled at his joke and unlocked the door. Immediately, before I could move, he reached for my handcuffed hands and tugged me out. I stumbled out, caught at the step down, and righted myself as I glared at the rough man.

"I think we came for a lady but are leaving with a shrew, Baba."

I whipped my head around and saw the two men the man was talking about, side by side, in masks, and grinning. The shorter one stage whispered to the man in a red blazer, and in turn, the other shushed him.

"Now, now. She's a lady. Take the handcuffs off her, Gomo. We can handle her from here."

A few minutes of hushed conversation between the three men, and I found myself nestled between the two newcomers, their arms linked with mine. They led me out of the back and to an elevator out of the way and far from the auditorium. They made small talk with one another, seemingly oblivious to my inner turmoil over the night's events. I knew my face held a deep frown and I could feel my eyes prickle with the possibility of tears, however, I kept quiet and focused on my tops of my shoes.

Eventually, the elevator softly indicated we'd arrived at their desired floor and they led me down the richly decorated hallway to a large set of double doors. The taller man, Baba, looked down at me and winked.

"We're home, pretty lady!"

"Baba, come on already! Eisuke's waiting. No good keeping Boss waiting." The other man tugged on my right arm and lead me through the doors first.

Baba sighed. "You're no fun, Ota."

The two brought me in what looked to be an over the top common lounge, complete with a wall sized tv hanging on the wall. The auction, still happening, was muted and playing live on screen.

The door behind us shut with a click and the two, Baba and Ota, joined the others in the room, smiles nearly reaching their masks and each taking a seat in the chairs in the room. The other three in the room also wore masks, two of whom were sitting on the couch in the middle of the room. The third was staring out the window, puffing on a cigarette looking bored. One of the men sitting on the couch, clad in what looked like an expensive business suit, stood and walked to stand in front of me, his eyes stared down at me coldly. Instinctively, I shrank away and flinched, which made him click his tongue.

"We just bought you for fifty million dollars. I suggest you get used to having us around."

"Who just bought her, Eisuke?" The other man on the couch glared and crossed his arms.

Eisuke just shrugged. "Fine. Soryu bought you, which means pigs will fly tomorrow." He took off his mask and I found myself staring at the face of one of the coldest men I had ever met. He grinned stiffly at me. "You belong to Soryu now, I suggest you go to your new master."

"Boss, do you really need to be like that? She wouldn't be happy to see you like this," Baba spoke up, taking his mask off as well. This man smiled much more genuinely at me, winking once more. "Can you imagine what Haruka would say if she was here tonight?"

Eisuke sighed, glanced once more at me, then glared at Baba as he went back to the couch. "You're a pain in the ass, Baba."

The two lightheartedly seemed to argue over me and over this girl, Haruka, seemingly having forgotten my actual existence. My eyes darted across the room to the others; the smoker barely glanced my way the entire time, Ota had his attention on the other two, and the man who apparently bought me-Soryu-was staring at me unhappily. Starting seeing his eyes meet mine, I shrunk in on myself a little, afraid to speak.

Abruptly, Soryu stood and grabbed me by the wrist. I let out a small whimper, but let him drag me out of the room and back into the hallway. He didn't say a word or look my way as he took me to one of the other doors in the hall and shoved me inside. Darkness surrounded me until he turned on the light switch and I found myself standing in a smaller, personal living room. Soryu snapped his fingers at me, making me jump. When I swung my head around to look at him, he pointed to the couch and motioned for me to sit.

He disappeared into a different room, affording me a moment to get my bearings and see where I was. The room was lavishly decorated, making me think of a penthouse. One whole wall was full of windows, showing the city outside. The view made me gasp in shock; the lights reflecting off the water were breathtaking. I was drawn from the seat despite the command to sit and pressed my forehead against the glass. This was the first view of the outside that I had seen in almost three months.

"Are you that impressed by such simple things? It's only Tokyo."

The man was back, holding a first aid kit and a piece of paper in his hands. I jumped and spun around, ready to curl up if he decided to punish me for disobeying. He ignored by outward show of fear and jerked his chin back to the couch. I immediately sat back down and waited for him to speak.

"Your wrist. It's sprained, isn't it?" Seeing my confused look, he elaborated. "I noticed that noise you made when I grabbed it, and it looks swollen."

Despite the severe look his face held, his touch was surprisingly gentle as he held my wrist in one hand and fumbled with the first aid kit in the other. Watching him struggle a moment, I decided to grab hold of the bandage he was trying to unroll and acted as a much needed second hand. When he started to roll it loosely, I whispered,

"It has to be tighter…"

He paused, which made me tense up. But instead of reacting to my first words like I expected, he began again.

"Let me know if this is too tight."

When he finished, he silently packed away the unused materials and sat the box aside. I held my wrist close to my chest, the pain I'd barely been aware of in the doldrum of the evening lessened.

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is you...Natsumi Takara."

The paper he'd brought into the room earlier was face down on the coffee table. However, he flipped it over to show a young woman, aged about twenty-four, standing proudly outside a home with a diploma in her hand and her mother next to her. Her wildly curly hair was caught as it blew in the breeze, the shades of brown caught the sunlight; her eyes were the color of whiskey and caught in a smile.

This was me. I had graduated that morning, four years before.

I was shocked he made the connection, since I looked nothing like that now.

I nodded and weakly answered, "Yes."

"Missing for four months, no notes to speak of according to family or police. Nothing suspicious in social media, workplace, or usual haunts. No ransom demands, no threats. It was almost as if you existed, then didn't." Soryu read from a small piece of paper that he pulled from his breast pocket, then glanced up at me. Tossing the paper on the table, he leaned back in his seat and added, "I'm assuming, based on bidder forty-five, that you ran away from someone or were stolen away? Selling humans is tricky and we require permission from said person as well as the seller."

The air between us was thick, tight with the ambiguity that he was leading towards. I kept my eyes trained on the ground and just waited.

"Bidder forty-five is from a rival gang of my own. He is a higher up in the echelon of the Osiris Brethren, which is impressive for a girl like you to get caught up in. I was quite happy to take away something that he wanted so badly. But I would like to know just what I paid fifty million for."

"I was the play toy of Ren Souma the last four months. His father, Taichi, decided it was time for me to go. So he wanted me dead. His grunts got greedy and put me in your auctions." My voice was quiet, but the room was quieter. The bitterness was unmistakable in my voice. When I looked up, Soryu was trying hard to disguise the look of surprise on his face.

"Souma? You had a position with the heir to the Osiris Brethren but irritated the boss? How stupid can you get?"

I flinched, but snapped, "I was kidnapped. I met Ren ONCE, then he decided he liked me and wanted me. Like I was a manga on the shelf. So he STOLE me from my house and held me CAPTIVE! I had no ties to yakuza like Taichi wanted, so he wanted me gone before Ren was irresponsible and get me pregnant!" I took a deep breath and continued. "He told his lapdog to throw me in the ocean but that asshole is greedier than Ren, and cut off all my hair to DISGUISE ME, which is completely stupid, then quickly put me up for auction. SO THANKS. You paid that dirtbag fifty million."

Soryu blinked quickly, not expecting my outburst. I hadn't expected it myself, and it exhausted me. I slumped back on the couch and hid my face in the cushion. I tried to take deep, calming breaths with varying levels of success.

"Well, Natsumi. Regardless, you'll be here now unless you can pay me back what I spent. Enjoy your last night as Natsumi Takara; tomorrow, I want you to pick a new name. Your old life is done. Your life truly begins tomorrow." Soryu stood and looked down on my huddled frame.

"I don't think I need to tell you what would happen to you if you tried to escape from the penthouse? Don't try it. Don't you dare tell anyone about the auctions, or your life really will end all together." He walked away from the living room and paused outside a door. "You can sleep in the other bedroom in this suite, there's a bathroom there too. Never come in my room."

I poked my head up long enough to glare at him as he spoke. "Who are you?"

"I'm Soryu Oh. Leader of the Ice Dragons and I own you. Welcome to the Tres Spades."

This was the day my life and story ended.

When morning came, our story began.


	2. Fortunate

_**Author's Note:** Chapter two! I do have readers out there, I see you all in my stats! That's awesome, so thank you! I'm having fun with this side project, so everyone stick with me! _

_**Disclaimer**: I own my own plot bunnies on a farm. KBTBB is owned by Voltage!_

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 2: Fortunate<span>**

"Soryu…."

"Soryu?"

"Sor-"

"What?!"

The man ended a call on his phone, and whipped his head around, irritated. He was poised to reach for his hidden gun, warning Baba who stood in Soryu's path to the lounge. The mobster had just left his room, locking the door and pocketing the key, all while talking quietly on the phone.

Baba blinked, startled that he actually answered, but quickly shook it off and smiled. "How's your new toy? What's her name? Can I borrow her?" He followed Soryu as he walked out of the hallway to to the lounge, not put out in the least that he was being ignored.

"Mind your own business, Baba."

"But you're keeping her up here, right? We'll run into her, so we should know her name. I can't just say, 'Hey you! Come here!' Can I?"

The two men walked into the lounge, finding a tired Mamoru Kishi reading the morning paper and Eisuke Ichinomiya typing away furiously on his laptop. Ota, it seemed, was going to be the last to arrive. Which was typical given he had the hardest time waking up in the mornings and was the least pleasant at that time, as well. Soryu poured himself a cup of coffee from the carafe available on the table and sat, waiting for Eisuke to finish up his business before they began their post-auction morning. A deflated Baba huffed and threw himself in an armchair opposite of the mobster.

"I hope you don't think that locking the door will keep me away from meeting her properly, Sor." Baba grinned over his own cup.

Soryu sighed. "I locked it mostly to keep her in, not you out. That would be beyond pointless."

"Speaking of her," Eisuke said, shutting his computer with a snap, "Care to elaborate why you bought a woman? I didn't think that was your taste, Soryu." He grinned at his old friend.

"Perhaps Soryu found love at first sight, seeing her in that cage?" Ota called, walking in the door with a yawn. His grin was thin as he sat next to Kishi and watched his reaction.

Soryu rolled his eyes and sat his cup down in front of him. "The woman is a pawn. I managed some information out of her last night, but I knew she would be valuable when I saw who really wanted to win her."

Eisuke chuckled. "Just what kind of woman did you buy?"

"I'm not sure what I want to do with her yet. But she unintentionally has ties to the Osiris Brethren. I'm looking to squeeze them out of Tokyo, so we'll see where this goes."

Ota yawned again. "Borrrring. What's her name?"

Soryu frowned. "She doesn't have one yet."

The other four men blinked simultaneously, shocked.

Kishi looked out from behind his paper, "Whaddya mean she doesn't have a name yet?" His voice was full of incredulousness, his eyebrows raised high.

"In order to do what I need, I am erasing her old name from her identity. I haven't picked a new name for her and she isn't awake yet, so I can't ask her what she wants to be called." He took another sip of coffee. "Other than the six of us, I don't see anyone else meeting her any time soon. So what difference does it make?"

"Six?" Kishi echoed.

"Haruka. She's gonna have something to say about this one, Boss." Baba smirked behind his hand, glancing over to Eisuke.

Eisuke narrowed his eyes at Baba. "She won't be back from visiting her family for another week. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Anyway," Soryu said, clearing his throat to get them back on track. "I would appreciate if, until I say so, none of you let her out of my suite. I know I can't keep most of you out, but my goal is to keep her in until I can trust her." He made to pull the gun from his breast pocket, causing them all to cry out in alarm. "I'm serious about this."

Shaking his head, Eisuke turned to Baba. "Enough about Soryu's woman. What do the final numbers from last night look like, Baba? Other than Soryu's fifty mil?" He added the last bit with a smirk.

Baba reached for a folder in front of him and flipped through some papers, skimming over the lists. "Well, looks like we made a definite profit. Adding Soryu's surprise purchase, but not including the entrance fees, we saw a total of $2.6 billion spent. With entrance fees, $2.9 billion. Our final income after paying sellers, $1.5 billion even." He read off the numbers quickly, but efficiently, eyes darting across the rows. "Highest item was the national secrets of Israel at just under $200 million, followed by the real Mona Lisa at $150 million and Soryu's woman at $50 million. Lowest items were a kidney and liver set for $10 thousand, the blueprints to a car with one hundred miles to the gallon for $100 thousand, and property next to the White House in America for $205 thousand. Only one winner was unable to pay. He will not be returning to the auctions. Two of us made purchases; Soryu, obviously, and Mamo-chan."

Eisuke nodded, seemingly satisfied. "A good night. What did you buy, Kishi?"

Kishi took a drag of the cigarette he'd lit while Baba read. "Warehouse."

Nodding, satisfied with the curt answer, Eisuke stood and addressed the others. "Final night of the I.V.C. tonight. Though I hate to say it, the majority of us should make an appearance. Soryu isn't the only one with plans. Dates optional, of course. Why not bring your songbird, Soryu?"

"Songbird? I think you misunderstand that woman. She isn't for show, Eisuke."

Eisuke just shrugged and pulled his cellphone from his pocket. "If no one else has anything to add, I'll see you all tonight." No one said anything, so he went back up to the 52nd floor to make his call.

Seemingly following his lead, Soryu stood and headed for the door, ready to pick up where he left off on his own phone call before Baba interrupted him. However, he wasn't out of the lounge before he sighed and said,

"If you want to talk to her, I will bring her to the lounge before we go down tonight. For now, I need to go over the rules. I don't think you all want her spilling secrets?"

He could feel the three behind him deflate and sit back down. They were so predictable, even the slacker. He slammed the door and redialed his cell. "Inui, I need to you to meet me in my suite as soon as you can. I have a job for you…" He trailed off, his figure frozen upon opening the door to the woman peeking around the corner of the room, hair dripping wet. "Wha-..."

"Sir?! Sir? You still there? Sirrrrr?"

Soryu slammed his door shut and crossed his arms, taking in the situation in front of him.

Shyly, she came around the corner in a towel, looking down at the ground. "I...I don't have any clothes other than what I was bought in."

Soryu blinked, letting her words soak in. He shook his head and rubbed his forehead tiredly. He hadn't thought about things like clothing and personal items. She wasn't a self-sufficient machine or gadget, she was going to have maintenance and needs. This is why women were such a pain.

"Go to your room. Let me go get you something," he barked, pointing for her to go. He only felt a little guilty when she jumped and skittered off and out of sight. He let out another sigh and felt what seemed to be a bag of bricks lifted off his chest. He spun around and went back to the penthouse to ask Eisuke for a favor.

"You want what?"

Soryu's eye twitched. He knew Eisuke was enjoying this from the gleam in his eye and the wide smirk on his face. The man was close to actually laughing.

"I need some of Haruka's clothes for the woman. I can't have her trapezing around naked."

"Why not go down to the boutiques and let her pick things out?"

"Again. I can't let her wander around naked. Just one outfit so I can take her down there before my meetings later."

Yes, his friend was enjoying this way too much.

Finally, Eisuke nodded. "I'll go grab something, hold on. I'm sure she has something I've grown tired of." He left the room and went to the bedroom where his girlfriend kept a small stash of clothes for when he kept her there overnight.

"You're a saint, Eisuke." Soryu muttered sarcastically.

"Damn straight, Oh." Eisuke threw some garments at Soryu. "Put whatever you buy her on my tab. Call it a welcome gift for your pet. Plus, a thank you for a reason to get rid of that sweater of Haruka's I hate."

Five minutes later, Soryu stormed into his suite and knocked on the woman's door. "I, um, I have clothes for you." The second he got to her door, his vigor left him, and he found himself rubbing the back of his neck self consciously.

Slowly, the door cracked open and he saw her small face peek out. Noiselessly, she reached a hand out for the clothes and withdrew back to the room. The air rushing out of her room blew in his face and he was caught up in the smell of his own shampoo. Sighing, he realized that was something else he was going to have to get for her. Though it meant she'd gone into his area, he would let it slide this once. He'd still bring it up, though. Taking his thoughts away from her, there was a knock on his suite door, drawing him back to the living room.

"Sir?"

"Enter."

Ryosuke Inui entered Soryu's suite and gave a respectful bow."Everything okay, sir? Our call ended strangely."

"It's fine. Sit." Soryu sat across from Inui and pulled out a small envelope from his breast pocket. "I need you to look into the contents of this envelope, Inui. The name Natsumi Takara, as much as you can that matters about her. Then, using as much caution as possible, look into Ren and Taichi Souma. They're Osiris, so watch yourself."

Inui looked down at the envelope with a serious face, listening intently. "Anything in particular for the Soumas?"

"General information not known to the public but well known for us. And any and all connections to her, plus the Tres Spades and the Ice Dragons. Anything that rings alarms, add that and let me know immediately." He slid the package to Inui and stood, walking over to the window to watch the bay. "While it may not seem important, I need this before the end of the week. It's Sunday now, so you have until next Sunday at the latest." Soryu paused, watching Inui's reaction in the reflection, but stiffened when he heard the bedroom door open the the soft footsteps of movement.

"Um, excuse me?"

"Sir, I didn't know you had company! I'll just go-"

"Sit, Inui!" The boy sat, obedient. Pointing to the woman, he barked, "You, sit." He pointed to the couch next to Inui.

She didn't jump as high as before, but she did slink to the couch, with a bit of petulance compared to Inui. Soryu noted that she was probably getting used to the barking of orders. He took note of the clothes that she'd put on, the cast offs that Eisuke had given of Haruka's wardrobe. She wore black leggings and a shirt that seemed just a little too short. He noted that she'd opted against the sweater that Eisuke hated. _She'll need a larger size, she's taller. And she looks like she dug from the back of a closet. Eisuke won't let her stay here looking like that._

Sighing, Soryu introduced Inui to the situation. "This is the woman I mentioned. However, for my purposes and for safety, I have told her she can no longer go by that name. She will be staying here in my suite until further notice."

Inui glanced at the woman sitting next to him. She'd drawn in on herself, her legs folded up under her chin, arms hugging them close. Her eyes were sharp dancing between the two, her hair was damp, curls cut haphazardly. He thought it almost looked like he'd given her a haircut, which was to say terrible. Like someone had taken dull shears and chopped away.

"Do you have a name picked out?" Inui asked her, tilting his head to the side.

She shrugged. "I suppose I belong to you, Mr Oh. Do you have a name for me?" Her voice was quiet, but Soryu could detect a bit of sarcasm. He rolled his eyes.

"I don't, mostly because I don't care. I just don't want to call you 'woman' or 'hey you', so pick a damn name already."

"Suzumi."

Both she and Soryu looked at Inui, surprised.

"Suzumi...works," she said, biting her lip.

"Suzumi...Fukui!"

"What's so fortunate?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"You live with Mr Oh! He's a great man! You're a very lucky woman!" Inui smiled big and clapped her on the shoulder jovially. He didn't see her flinch when he hit her, but Soryu's sharp eyes took in everything.

"Fine. Your name now is Suzumi Fukui," Soryu nodded, that business complete. "Add getting some documentation made for her with that name. Date of birth….today, age 28. Brown eyes and hair, five foot and eight inches, one hundred and…" he paused, sizing her up, "twelve pounds." She didn't make any objections when he mentioned her weight, though to be honest, he was being generous. He assumed she was kept on a short leash in every way when she was with Souma. She was on the rather thin side for her height and looked malnourished and pale.

"Inui, grab a piece of paper and a pen. Suzumi, I need you to make a list of all the personal items you will need for the time being. We can always get more, but everything you can think of for now. Shampoo, soap, a hairbrush. Anything but clothes. Inui can pick them up for you and bring them back here."

Soryu watched as Inui kindly handed her the tools and she sat, hunched over the paper scribbling things she thought she would need. The two talked over the things she might need, noting how she laughed at his embarrassment over some items.

"But, do you really need that?!"

"Not today, but eventually! Sorry!"

Inui sighed but took her list with a smile. Looking up, me made eye contact with his boss. "Anything else until I come back, sir?"

Soryu shook his head. "No. Get her items, drop them off, then work on what I asked you to. Report back in the morning, unless something comes up." He glanced at Suzumi. "If we're not here when you come back, just leave them here on the couch. She can put them away afterwards."

He ignored her look of surprise and saw Inui out, the door clicking shut. It was only ten am, but he was near exhausted. He didn't know how to handle Inui's desperate look of embarrassment over the list, let alone the female herself.

"Are...are we going somewhere?"

When he came back to the sitting area, she was standing, self consciously pulling at the hem of the shirt she wore. He nodded and picked up his cell phone from the couch. "You need clothes. I'm taking you downstairs to get some. Let's go."

Suzumi nodded and ran to the room to grab the slip on shoes Eisuke had given her. Soryu internally winced when he saw they were also too small for her. She was a good five or six inches taller than Haruka, which meant a completely different size in just about everything, he supposed.

Before he opened the door to the hallway, he stared her down, satisfied when she shrank back. "You are about to enter public space at the casino. Guests of all kinds will be there. You are not to mention how you came to be here, including but not limited to the auction. You do not mention who I am when it comes to the Ice Dragons, nor my gun. Yes I have a gun, so don't get ideas. Do not try to run, your life here will be much better than anything that waits for you outside the casino. That may or may not include Souma finding you and finishing the job himself. You need to be presentable, as you are technically a guest of this hotel as well. In fact, you are a guest of mine, which means you are a guest of Eisuke Ichinomiya, the owner. There is a level of expectation with that title. Act appropriately, dress appropriately, talk appropriately and everything will be fine. If you do anything I have told you to avoid, you will be ended. The only thing I can promise you if it comes to that is that I am kinder than Souma. And remember, your name is Suzumi Fukui. Are we clear?"

Suzumi blinked and nodded, eyes wide.

"Oh, and if any of the guys from last night find us, they are my friends. Treat them as you would friends, please. Except the slacker. He's not worth your breath."

"Slacker?"

"You'll notice him. Let's go."


	3. How To Take Care of Your Pet

**Author's Note:** _Hi there! I left this story to bake over the holidays and am back to update! I saw a lot of reviews and got a lot of PMs and saw a lot of people favorite this story, which makes me happy. So thanks to everyone who's reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing! Reviews encourage me to write! I'm hoping to keep a couple chapters ahead from the ones I post, that way I can keep track of the story. I think I'm currently writing chapter 6..._

_Just as a reminder, I work full time and go to school full time, so writing fanfiction is a luxury hobby. I also have a Harry Potter series that I write. Plus, I'm doing ComicCon next weekend in Dallas, so I hope to maybe update in three weeks? Sound fair? (PS, if any of you are going to ComicCon, find me. You can PM me for clues.)_

_Stick with me, the story gets better here on out. Happy reading!_

**Disclaimer**_: I own nothing except the original characters. KBTBB is owned by Voltage, Inc._

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 3: How to Take Care of Your Pet<span>**

The ride down to the common floors was quiet, Suzumi watching the world outside through the glass walls and Soryu keeping an eye on everything else. He was well aware of her fascination with the outside world, at this point. She'd shown it the night before when he'd left her alone and she saw the city from his windows. She mentioned in her rant how she hadn't been allowed outside, either. Information noted and saved for later. The elevator made a soft noise and the doors slid open, revealing hotel guests walking left and right.

"Come," he said briskly, grabbing her unwrapped wrist and tugging her along to the boutiques. Surprisingly, she followed without a word. When he glanced at her face, he saw she was taking in the atmosphere, eyes darting everywhere. The moment they got to the first shop, the doors were shut and the staff greeted them as a unit.

"Welcome, Mr Oh! We've been waiting for you!"

Soryu looked at them, confused. "What do you mean?"

The manager of the shop stepped forward. "Mr Ichinomiya asked any of the shops to close up for you and your guest as you came along so that you could shop in private. You can both take the time that you need without other people being here."

Next to him, he could feel Suzumi let out a breath and her whole body relax. When he looked down at her, he saw her shoulders slump slightly, losing the tension she'd been carrying as they walked around, and a small smile appear on her face. He tilted his head in thought.

"Suzumi, go with them, get whatever you want. When you're done, we'll move on."

He let go of her wrist and sat down on a chair near the dressing rooms, picking up the day's paper and began to read.

Suzumi looked to the manager and shrugged. "Show me what you have, I guess?"

"Right this way, miss!"

About forty minutes past when Soryu heard, "I'm done." He almost hadn't heard it, it was said so quietly. He looked past the paper and saw Suzumi standing in front of him, two bags in her hands.

"You're not wearing the new clothes?" he asked, confused. He didn't think she actually liked those rags she had on from Haruka's cast offs.

She looked down at the bags and shrugged. "The close here are super nice. Maybe if we find something a little more casual?"

Soryu nodded and stood, taking the bags from her hands before she could protest. He may hate women, but he wasn't rude. He liked to think himself somewhat a gentleman. As they walked out, one of the sales clerks called out,

"Come back anytime, Miss Suzumi!"

Suzumi walked right past the next to shops, which were jewelry in stock, refusing flat out when Soryu pointed, showing the first true look at her stubborn nature. The next store featured more clothing, still 'fancy' according to Suzumi. Though thanks to the help, she managed another two bags. Another boutique found clothing more to whatever she was looking for. They spent over an hour there, Soryu keeping an eye on the staff and the exits. He caught glimpses of Suzumi as she'd walk out of the dressing room in her old shirt, but a new pair of pants, looking for a different top or vice versa.

He knit his brows in confusion at the look on her face. Most women seemed to love shopping, more than he loved his detective novels. Their faces would typically be full of joy and smiles; Suzumi's, however, just looked frustrated. Perhaps even worried. Thinking over the situation, he rationalized that she probably saw the price tags on the clothing. The cost didn't matter to him, Eisuke said he'd foot the bill. He found the cost of these clothes a good start to payback for all the grief he'd get over this woman.

When they were ready to leave, she was wearing more comfortable looking purple tights, a simple knee length black dress, and a purple cardigan. She still had on the too small shoes, which made him angry for some reason. He wanted her to have good shoes and told her as such. Their next stop was the shoe store where he had a hand in picking some out. Suzumi had wanted to stop at three; one pair of slip ons, one pair of sneakers, and one pair of dress shoes. However, Soryu had also made her choose pairs of boots, more slip ons and flats, sneakers, and even picked out dress shoes she couldn't possibly hope to walk in or even have something to wear them with. When she protested, he said,

"Buy it while you can, Eisuke is paying for it, so what do I care?" He sent the many pairs of shoes and all the previous bags up to the room, asking an attendant to deliver them there while they continued to shop. He sent her in alone to the next store, flat out refusing to enter with her. When she went in and when she came out, she could have sworn he was flush from the neck up. When she smiled at the embarrassed look on his face, he frowned and took her to one last boutique.

"The salon?" Suzumi looked up at Soryu curiously.

"If you hadn't noticed, that grunt did a disservice to your head when he cut off your curls. They can even it out a bit so it doesn't look like it got caught in a lawn mower."

She reached up and fingered her hair gingerly in thought. "Can I change whatever I want about it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno, the color or straighten it or…"

Soryu waved his hand at the salon. "Do what you want."

Soryu found himself stuck in the salon for three hours while the staff worked on Suzumi. When he asked, an hour in, they told him Mr Ichinomiya had requested the full service package for Soryu's guest, which included a manicure and pedicure. Soryu vowed to drag the woman into the jewelry stores and make her buy the ridiculous baubles there to spite Eisuke. The waiting area was just as luxurious as it could get, being at the Tres Spades, however he still had better things to do than waiting on a woman and he was getting restless. He already had to reschedule his meeting with his subordinates for evening, after he finished at the hotel's I.V.C. Not to mention they'd missed lunch and it was closing in close to dinner time.

In the salon, Suzumi thought about what she wanted to do with her hair as they worked on her toes and hands. She was surprised when they sat her in a chair and gently began buffing and filing away, but found most of the actions soothing. She'd almost forgot what it was like to be normal, and this had been one of the things she'd done occasionally with friends. Though, certainly not at such a high end place like this. Most of the time, it was at home or in the dorms when they didn't have school work.

"Which color, Miss Suzumi?" The woman working on her hands showed her a catalog of nail color. Surprised at the selection, she felt a little overwhelmed.

"Uh, surprise me? Just, no pink or red, please?"

"Of course!"

While they clipped away at her hair, she stared down at her cobalt blue nails. She'd never had blue nails before, and she was finding that she liked it.

"What would you like to do with your hair? How about relaxing it straight?"

Suzumi was about to say yes, when she was struck with a thought,

"_If you hadn't noticed, that grunt did a disservice to your head when he cut off your curls. They can even it out a bit so it doesn't look like it got caught in a lawn mower."_

She thought about the random comment Soryu had said outside the salon before they'd come in.

"..._that grunt did a disservice to your head when he cut off your curls."_

Thinking, she blurted, "No! Can I...Can we just make it look nice? I've never had short hair before…"

"Certainly!" The hairdresser happily went to work reworking the botched job on Suzumi's head. When she seemed to be almost done, she asked her, "Where did you get your gorgeous curls? It's kind of rare for a girl here to have them!"

Suzumi didn't know how to answer without breaking any of the rules Soryu had set for her. However, mentioning some aspects of her family hadn't been on the list. "My grandfather. He came from America during the war and married my grandmother. They stayed in Japan, and I ended up with his hair and eyes."

"No wonder you're so cute! You've got a little mixed blood! I love your eyes, too, by the way!"

When she was done, the staff gave her a gift basket full of product, which Suzumi asked them if they'd send it up to Soryu's suite. They happily obliged, tittering about how lucky she was to be staying with 'the gorgeous but scary Mr Oh!' When their backs were turned, she rolled her eyes at their naivety. They all seemed like a nice bunch, however they all liked to kiss a little too much butt for her tastes.

Eventually, she wandered over to the waiting area to find Soryu, clearing her throat to get his attention. "I'm ready to go."

Soryu threw down the book he was reading, about as ready to leave as her. When he looked up at her as he stood, he lost his balance and fell back in the seat. Panicked, Suzumi reached out to help him.

"Are you okay? Did you slip?"

Soryu waved her hand away and stood fluidly this time, giving her head a once over.

"I thought you'd be coming out in red hair or something," he commented, brushing off the dust from his suit.

"I changed my mind. I got about as wild as the nail polish color. At least that isn't hard to change." She looked down at her hands and wiggled her fingers. "Do I at least look like I won against the lawn mower this time?"

Nervously, she ran her hand through the more even curls. Four months ago, she had a mane of curls down her back, but now, she had a short bob, ending at her ears. She felt more naked now than before when the money hungry asshole had cut all her hair off. However, she felt better knowing she'd made the style choice this time.

Soryu seemed to glare at her hair, which made her want to shrink back, but she resisted most of the urge. She relaxed when his eyes seemed to lose their severity and he muttered,

"Sure. Curls are great. Let's go."

He grabbed her wrist and took her back to one of the jewelry stores and told her they weren't leaving until she had picked out at least six things. The more she picked out, the quicker they could leave. In the end, Soryu got his way and they were out in under twenty minutes.

Soryu noted how, over the time spent shopping, Suzumi seemed to relax. However, each time they left a shop, her anxiety seemed to rise and her body tensed. Perhaps her time with the Soumas was more damaging than he thought, it was something he would need to look into. As they were about to step into the VIP elevator to return to the suite, the doors opened up to reveal Eisuke and Ota, who stopped their chat when they noticed Suzumi and Soryu.

"Oh, Soryu and his woman." Eisuke grinned, taking in the sight. The girl looked much more put together than she had the night before, when she had been dragged in the lounge by Ota and Baba. Soryu had even managed to dress her decently; he knew there was a dress code at the hotel and Soryu was a stickler for the rules, after all.

"Suzumi, this is Eisuke Ichinomiya and Ota Kisaki. They're some of the men from the lounge last night." Soryu introduced her to the two, and watched as she bowed her head.

"Hello."

"Your pet has good manners, Soryu!" Ota grinned and pet Suzumi on the head,

Soryu coughed to cover up the laugh that bubbled up at the look in her face over Ota touching her hair. Thinly veiled mutiny. He was glad she had enough sense not to talk back right now in the middle of the casino.

"She's not a pet, Ota."

Ota ignored him and ran his hands through her hair, "She's soft and fluffy. I like her!"

Before Suzumi could snap at him, a rumbling interrupted, causing all four to pause. Immediately, her cheeks turned red and she closed her eyes.

"Sor, did you not feed your pet? That's rule number one in ownership!" Ota pulled his hands away from Suzumi's hair and put them on his hips.

"Were you planning on starving her? I'll say, she's already on the thin side," Eisuke added, frowning.

Soryu looked down sharply at her, asking, "Why didn't you say you were hungry? You haven't eaten since breakfast right?"

Suzumi seemed to once more shrink in on herself and avoided eye contact with him. Softly, but firmly, she said, "I didn't eat breakfast. I didn't know I was allowed to or how to obtain it."

Staring down at her in surprise, Soryu was once again taken back by how much he'd forgotten when it came to taking care of someone. Next to him, Eisuke crossed his arms, frown deepening. "Soryu…"

"You didn't think to say something, not eaten all day, Suzumi?" Ota asked, curious.

Suzumi took a deep breath, looking upward. "I haven't eaten in three days. Not since I was with Ren."

"Who…"

"Let's go," Soryu grabbed her wrist and pushed her into the elevator. Quickly, he swiped his card and ignored the confused and shocked faces of Eisuke and Ota, relishing in the closing of the doors. Next to him, Suzumi had pulled her arm away from him and was standing as far away from him as she could in the small box. They were both silent until they got to the suite.

Soryu motioned for her to sit on the couch and disappeared into the kitchenette as he heard her pad across the room. When he came back, he saw her perched on the edge of the couch, body tense, eyes looking once more out the windows. He sat across from her on the other couch and placed a menu between the two of them on the coffee table.

"Pick something for dinner. And dessert. Whatever you want, it doesn't matter."

His eyes watched her as she looked down at the menu and gingerly picked it up. She was browsing through the selection when Soryu added, "Whenever you want food, anytime at all, you may order it. I will not keep you from basic things you need, like food. I will not treat you badly. My rules, while sounding harsh, are very simple and easy to follow."

She hadn't looked up from her browsing while he spoke, but he could tell she was listening, as her eyes had stopped moving and he doubted she was finding the steak tartar that compelling. Once he fell silent, her eyes started to move once more across the paper. A few minutes passed when she sat down the menu and looked up. Soryu was watching her keenly.

"Soup. And maybe the pasta?"

"Is that all you want?"

Suzumi nodded. "I haven't eaten in a while, I don't want to get sick. Soup first. If I can handle that, then the pasta."

Satisfied with her answer, Soryu took the menu away and made a call down to the kitchens. When he came back to the room, he saw her looking through a large plastic shopping bag that had been sitting on the couch with her-the stuff Inui had fetched. Upon closer inspection, he saw her looking curiously at one of the items in her hand.

"Did Inui get something wrong?"

"No," she shook her head. "He got me some chocolate. I didn't put it on the list, but that was nice of him, I guess." She smiled small. She sat it aside and rummaged through the bag. "May I go put my stuff away?"

"Do what you want."

Immediately, Suzumi scooped up the bag, plus a couple others from the neatly stacked pile by the door, delivered from their shopping, and headed for her room. He watched, slightly bemused, as she made four more trips to get all the bags. There was definitely more bags than either of them had picked out, which was probably Eisuke and the others' doing. The extra bags were from stores not located at the Tres Spades and he wondered how close of an eye they'd been keeping on their activities that day. He also wondered how long it would take her to notice.

"Mr Oh?"

Soryu realized he was still standing in the living room, staring into space while thinking. Looking behind him, she saw Suzumi with a confused look. "Yes?"

"Where did some of this come from?"

"What do you mean?"

She held up a sparkly cocktail dress, face skeptical. "I definitely did not pick this out. Plus it's too big."

To him, the dress was still small, but that was because she was smaller. For the time being. He supposed this was a sign from the men that she wasn't going anywhere until she sized up and became a bit healthier. He found that he was okay with that, he had his limits, sending a starving woman onto the streets was one of them.

"They're gifts from the others, put them in the closet for the time being. I suppose it's best to say they're for the future."

She couldn't keep the skeptical look from her face, but shrugged and turned to go back to her room.

"And you can just call me Soryu."

"Soryu?" She turned slightly to confirm, watching his face for his reaction. He nodded with a small grin.

"Go finish. Our dinner will be here soon and I have to go out with the others after." He waved her off and went to his own room to change clothes.

Twenty five minutes later found the two eating silently at the dining room table. Suzumi was taking it slow with her soup, savoring the flavors. Opposite of her, Soryu kept one eye on his plate and the other on her. Minutes after he finished, there was a knock on the suite door, followed by three voices letting themselves in.

Irritated, Soryu stood and stomped into the next room, glaring at the visitors. Poking her head around the corner, Suzumi saw that it was the same men she'd been meeting the night before and today. Mr Kisaki, who she'd seen in the casino before coming up, the man in the red blazer who brought her to the penthouse, Baba, and the last man she'd only seen the night before. _Perhaps he was the slacker Soryu mentioned in the morning?_ she thought.

"I don't barge into your suites without permission. I'd ask you to afford me the same courtesy," Soryu grunted, arms crossed. Both Ota and Baba gave fleeting apologies, and headed right for Suzumi, who was still mostly in the next room.

Peeking into the dining area, Ota saw the plates and smiled. "Good. Soryu is taking care of his pet after all. He had me worried." He pat her on the head and put his hands in his pockets.

"I'm not a pet," she mumbled, looked down to the ground, trying to melt into the wall.

"Soryu, she's practically afraid of us. What have you been telling her?" Baba asked, watching her face.

"He didn't say anything!"

"I didn't say anything!"

"Ota look! They are already sharing sentences!" Baba stage whispered to the artist. "What's happening in here?"

"How scary, Baba!"

The two laughed at the looks both Soryu and Suzumi gave them; hers mortification and his rage. Before they could say anything else, Soryu pulled out his gun.

"I don't think the two of you take me serious enough."

"Put it away, Oh." The third man at the door rolled his eyes, puffing on a cigarette.

"You don't get to tell me what to do, you useless detective."

Kishi chuckled. "No, I don't. But take a look at her face." He nodded to Suzumi, who practically wilted at the sight of the weapon. She was practically glued to the wall, her body shrunk in on itself to make a smaller target.

Soryu cursed and put the gun back in his jacket pocket. "Get out! I'll meet you down there!" He barked, pointing to the door. Frightened at the look on his face, Baba and Ota left quickly, trailing behind Kishi who left the second Soryu's head was turned.

"Suzumi?"

Hearing her name, she stood and looked up at Soryu, eyes wide like saucers. "I'm fine!" Her voice was an octave higher than usual and her face was paler than usual.

"Are you sure? Do you want to lay down?"

He made to step towards her, but she darted away.

"I'm fine! Actually, I think I will lay down. I'll finish eating later." She was tripping over her own words, each coming out much too fast to be a part of her normal speech. Right before she went to her room, she added, "Have fun tonight! I promise not to talk to anyone or try to go anywhere!"

Her door shut with a click and that was how Soryu's first full day with her ended.

Frustrated at what had happened in the last ten minutes, Soryu resisted the urge to punch the wall. One of the few things he asked of the others was to not come into his suite without permission. It was like just because there was a woman in there, it meant his rules were null. Perhaps he needed to be a little more forceful with them, when Suzumi wasn't around.

In her her room, Suzumi sat on the floor, back against the door. Taking deep breaths, she tried to calm the fear that had bubbled up in the living room, seeing the gun in Soryu's hand. Guns were a shocking thing to see, before her life had been changed so drastically. They were completely illegal unless you were law enforcement, and even then, they weren't carried openly on a daily basis. The only time she had ever seen them growing up was on TV and movies. Until the day she met Ren Souma. Then, every time she saw a gun, she saw life extinguished, blood, pain. And although she hadn't seen all those things here, the sight of a gun still shook her and made her freeze up. The wait to see what would happen next held her down.

For some reason, even though she only knew Soryu Oh for less than a day, she didn't want to think of him in the same light at the Soumas. She was finding it hard to distinguish between what she could and could not do, how she could act or say. Though, the few times she's spoken out of turn, Soryu hadn't punished her. The only time he'd been truly mad at her was when she hadn't spoken up about eating.

Sighing, she stood and decided to peek her head out of the room. When she didn't see anything or hear any movement, she ventured further out. The suite was empty, save for her; Soryu had left for his outing with his friends. Quietly, she grabbed her still covered plate of pasta and took it to the sitting area. Facing the windows, she slowly finished the rest of her dinner in silence.

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><p><em><strong>AN: **Thanks for reading! Leave me a review so I know you're reading!_


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